County officials tour Food for People facility

EUREKA -- Department of Health and Human Services leaders and two Humboldt County supervisors met with representatives from Food for People on March 31 to learn more about the nonprofit organization and tour its facility.

Food for People -- located at 307 W. 14th St. in Eureka -- is the food bank for Humboldt County. With a small but dedicated staff and a large group of volunteers, Food for People operates myriad programs designed to address the needs of those in the community who are experiencing hunger and food insecurity.

Food for People Executive Director Anne Holcomb walked DHHS Director Phillip R. Crandall, DHHS Assistant Directors Barbara LaHaie and Connie Beck and Supervisors Rex Bohn and Virginia Bass around the Food for People building and talked about its programs, including food pantries and free produce markets around the county, nutrition education classes, a gleaning program, three child nutrition programs, emergency food programs for seniors and the CalFresh Access Outreach Project, which is funded by DHHS.

"The department's relationship with Food for People has been a gratifying and effective one as we, as a county, work together to reduce the impacts of hunger on our children, families and elders," Crandall said.

"The efforts we saw at Food for People reinforce to me that the strategies of regionalized government and private-nonprofit partnerships, combined with the firepower of volunteers, is an effective way to reduce hunger in Humboldt while improving overall nutrition and health as well."

To further increase CalFresh awareness and enrollment, Food for People has received more than $1.06 million from DHHS as part of a yearlong contract that runs through September 2014. The funds are being used for a variety of purposes related to CalFresh, including outreach efforts, food purchases, Market Match incentive funds, staffing, operating expenses and more. Food for People staffers have pre-screened 1,609 individuals for CalFresh eligibility and processed more than 360 CalFresh applications since the beginning of the contract.

"Food for People's partnership with DHHS has provided a unique opportunity for us to work together on a variety of levels to address issues related to hunger, food insecurity and nutrition in Humboldt County," Holcomb said.

"The funding has played a critical role in helping us to expand outreach for CalFresh and provide direct application assistance for people who are struggling with food insecurity. We work closely with county staff and other community partners throughout that process to address questions about eligibility and enrollment."

DHHS funds also helped Food for People start a Mobile Produce Pantry, which travels to outlying communities, often setting up alongside DHHS' Mobile Outreach vehicle.

In the last year, 80,000 pounds of food were distributed through the Mobile Produce Pantry program.

"This helps connect folks with nutritious foods as they explore eligibility for CalFresh and other county services that might help stabilize their lives," Holcomb said.

In addition, DHHS funds were used in part to renovate Food for People's kitchen, where cooking classes are offered to young parents, seniors and other populations. These classes, Holcomb said, "reinforce the nutrition message that a healthy diet can be delicious and affordable."

Food for People provides food assistance for more than 12,000 people of all ages countywide each month.

Last year, the agency distributed more than 2.1 million pounds of food to low-income households.

Food for People does all this with 17 full-time and four part-time staffers and more than 400 volunteers, who last year donated 32,867 hours of their time.

Supervisor Bass noted that, "Food for People has been working to alleviate hunger and improve the well-being of our community for many years. This partnership with the county will help Food for People with its important mission and benefit the people of Humboldt County as a whole."

"I am so impressed by the efforts of Food for People and others who are doing similar work," Crandall said. "I'd like to thank the staff at Food for People for all of their hard work."